In medieval times the Meon was a drowned estuary like the Hamble and was tidal almost as far as Titchfield, which was an important small harbour. At the Dissolution the rich Premonstratensian Abbey of Titchfield, founded in 1222, was granted to Thomas Wriothesley, later the first Earl of Southampton. It was the third Earl who conceived the idea of reclaiming the salt-marshes between the town and the sea. A sea wall across the mouth of the Meon was completed in 1611, and since that time Titchfield Haven has been fresh or brackish, although the sea has occasionally broken back in during storms. The reclamation spelt the doom of Titchfield as a port, even though a canal was built, and the town sank into a centuries-long decline.

Until recently much of the reclaimed Haven stayed as rough grazing land, and the remains of former salt-marsh creeks can still be picked out in places. Much of the Haven was maintained by the Alston family as a private wildlife sanctuary until 1972 when the County Council purchased it for management as a Local Nature Reserve. Since then many improvements have been made to enrich and protect the habitats, notably by scraping out large shallow lagoons to attract wading birds and wildfowl, and by establishing a warden service.

Today Titchfield Haven is mostly rough Agrostis grassland, with many wet marshy hollows and drainage ditches leading into the main river, which winds attractively down the valley, escaping through a sluice to the sea. Around the sluice is a small salt-marsh with plants including Long-leaved Scurvy grass and Sea Milkwort. Sea Club-rush and Glaucous Bulrush are widespread along the river, ditches and scrapes. In the fields close to the sea grow many plants typical of sub-maritime or brackish situations-such as Parsley Water Dropwort, Hairy Buttercup, Buck's-horn Plantain and Mud Rush. Marsh Mallow makes a fine display, especially near the reed beds which are the reserve's main feature.

Among the more striking flowers along the river itself are Great Water Dock, Yellow Loosestrife, Purple Loosestrife, Reedmace and Flowering Rush with its attractive head of pale pink flowers. In places the reed-bed forms a swamp, often under Willow, where Blackcurrant, Hemlock Water Dropwort, Skullcap and Hemp Agrimony can be found. More open wet ditches are often dominated by Reed Sweet-grass Reed Canary-grass or Greater Pond Sedge. Cattle trampled areas support shorter plants, such as Bur marigold and Celery-leaved Buttercup.

The Upper Haven is a Hampshire and Isle of Wight Naturalists' Trust reserve. Here there are peat deposits, mainly where ground-water seeps from the valley sides, in which acid-loving and fen plants occur together; notable species are Bog Pimpernel, the tiny white-flowered Brookweed, Marsh Arrow-grass, Nodding Scirpus, Creeping. Jenny and Meadow Thistle. There is also a little marginal woodland, and some fine wet flushes with stands of Lady Fern, tussocks of Panicled Sedge and Golden Saxifrage. In summer these meadows usually have a good display of the Southern Marsh Orchid.

The Haven is known to be a rich habitat for insects. Fifteen of Hampshire's 26 kinds of dragonflies have been recorded here, and the moth and beetle faunas include several rare species, some of which are confined to such coastal sites.

The great richness of Titchfield Haven for plants and insects is reflected in its value for birds. Since wardening began wildfowl numbers have slowly increased after their slump in the 1960s. Winter or summer, no visit to Titchfield Haven is without its ornithological interest, and the specially-built concealed walks and bird observation hides give the visitor an unrivalled opportunity to watch many birds, both common and rare, at close quarters. The rarities include many species resting at Titchfield on their long continental or oceanic flights, whilst common local species come and go with great regularity between a series of feeding and roosting sites within the Solent. As the tides cover the mudflats, large groups of waders fly off to rest, preen or continue feeding in the Haven .

With luck, a close scan of the winter Solent may reveal, amongst the ducks and gulls, Great Crested Grebe frozen out of inland ponds, and perhaps the closely related Divers, which will have come from breeding grounds in the northern and western extremities of the British Isles. Spring brings terns on their global migration from South Africa, skuas and migrant gulls such as Kittiwake and Little Gull returning to their breeding grounds.

In early summer breeding Meadow Pipits, Skylarks and a few pairs of Lapwing share the meadows with grazing cattle. The communal courtship displays of Shelduck occasionally disturb the peace, which is increasingly broken from mid-June onwards with the arrival of more Lapwing from their farmland breeding grounds. The Lapwings frequently rise up, disturbed by the sight of Kestrels and Sparrowhawks. Along the sluggish River Meon, Coot, Moorhen and Mallard are regular breeders, Kingfisher hunt and Heron can be seen stalking along the banks or perched immobile in the shallow lagoons. Ducks are common, especially in winter, the commonest being Teal, Widgeon and Mallard. In the thick reed beds, Reed and Sedge Warblers find abundant insect food and put on reserves of fat before their long flight south. The main ornithological gains of the last ten years 69 include Bearded Tit breeding in small numbers, and the now regular occurrence of Cetti's Warbler.

In late August or early September it is not unusual to see up to 10,000 Swallows and Sand Martins hawking for insects over the reed bed-a few perhaps themselves falling victim to a Hobby before plunging down for a final rest before journeying south. In the wet pastures, Yellow Wagtails and Wheatears feed, Whinchats can be seen perched on nearby posts and hedges, and Turtle and Stock Doves and Black-tailed Godwits join the Lapwings in the meadows. The duck population begins to rise rapidly with Widgeon, which graze in the meadows, and Teal which feed in the marshy hollows and ditches. The new scrapes have encouraged a much wider range of winter wetland birds, including autumn passage waders such as Green and Common Sandpipers, Greenshank and Ruff, pausing on their southward journey from Russian and Scandinavian swamps.

Conserving the Haven is a never-ending task aimed at improving the habitat diversity by reed cutting, scrub management, water level control and constant liaison with farmers who use the meadows for cattle grazing.

With Grateful thanks to Hampshire County Council: www.hants.org.uk

Species Seen:?

Webmaster: